


Lather, rinse, repeat (missed a spot)

by sol_lune



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!, Naruto
Genre: Drabble Sequence, Gen, Rebirth, Reincarnation, a taste of world-building bc apparently I can't help myself, confusing/unreliable narrative, flashes of humor/crack, friendship to the rescue
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 10:28:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27469528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sol_lune/pseuds/sol_lune
Summary: Her name was once Sakura.And this has happened before.Story told in a series of 15 (usually) drabble-sized moments per chapter.
Relationships: Hibari Kyouya & Sasagawa Kyouko, Kurokawa Hana & Sasagawa Kyouko, Sasagawa Kyouko & Sasagawa Ryouhei
Comments: 12
Kudos: 149
Collections: Identity Crisis, Reincarnation and Transmigration





	1. i. - xv. / 1 to 15

**i.**

Her name was once Sakura.

And this has happened before.

**ii.**

Except, it isn’t right.

Green eyes glow golden and pink has become replaced with auburn-blonde. 

_But this has happened before._

Yes, but… the memories of past lives are supposed to be contained in the dreams of the current life. Everyone knows this. 

She shouldn’t be able to remember so clearly.

Her dreams spill over as faces and names become switched and swapped. She can’t tell when she’s awake anymore.

**iii.**

They, her family, call her Kyoko. It is her new name. 

_Why would it be new?_

Normal, this is normal.

**iv.**

In her last life, she was an only child with nice, kind people for parents. 

This time around, the parents are much the same, but she now has a brother. He is loud and bright and sometimes his eyes seem blue like the sky at dawn. 

She thinks she might have been lonely before, though she wasn’t alone.

**v.**

No matter how much Kaa-san pleads with her, she refuses to grow her hair out. No long hair for her. (Never again.) 

Every three months, without fail, the weight of auburn-blonde hair brushing her shoulders is lifted as an inch or so is sharply trimmed off.

Amazing how a few cuts and snips can return the order she needs to breathe safely. 

**vi.**

When Nii-chan comes home one day with a broken nose and blood smeared across his forehead, she freezes before bursting into action. She helps clean him up, but he is hurt and she has never felt more helpless. 

_His back, why do I see his back?_

Nii-chan smiles, wincing a little through the pain, and reassures her.

“Don’t worry about me, Kyoko-chan! I won’t ever let you get hurt,” he said seriously.

It’s too late for that, she thinks.

_This has happened before._

**vii.**

She saves up for a first-aid kit and wears it around her hip. 

The bag is red.

Her family contributes items to add to her collection.

Nii-chan gives bandages, Mother hands her a bottle of antiseptic, and Father passes down a box of band-aids.

She smiles at them, so full of joy, her cheeks feel as if they are glowing.

**viii.**

But Nii-chan keeps coming home with injuries and even with her kit, it’s not enough. 

_Why isn’t it enough?_

All she can do is fuss over the aftermath and cover wounds with band-aids. 

_Useless. What was all the training with Shishou for if she can’t take the pain away and heal him, or better yet, stop him from getting hurt in the first place?_

The thought makes her brain itch and hurt. Is she still dreaming?

**ix.**

She takes up boxing by accident.

The dreams get stronger and with them, the thoughts and voices clamor louder for her attention.

She punches the wall in a thoughtless expression of frustration. Then, her mind catches up with her and she braces for the pain that will surely hit.

Except, there is no pain. 

There is only a broken, crumbling wall.

_This has happened before._

Expression twisting in distaste and annoyance, she shouts wordlessly at the monotone, knowing voice and pulls her glowing fist back again.

Construction has to be done on the walls and the very next day, she is enrolled into the gym that Nii-chan practices at.

**x.**

She tugs on a pair of gloves with the familiarity that accompanies experience, takes a breath and releases a minuscule portion of her chaotic energy with a heavy swing. 

A punching bag is different from a person, but they both fall under her strength.

Eventually.

She rights the teetering bag and her next hit makes the punching bag _pop_. 

The room goes quiet and the girl next to her, the owner’s daughter, stares at her with surprised eyes and then smiles widely in clear interest.

This is how she meets Hana. 

**xi.**

Joint training sessions with Hana turn into play dates thrice a week and sleepovers every Saturday. 

One day, after they beat up a girl who was bullying a small, fluffy-haired boy in the park sandbox, they sit on a bench feeding the ducks and nibbling at cakes, and she realizes Hana is her best friend.

Hana gives her a pleased look when she verbalizes the realization and nudges her shoulder.

**xii.**

School starts and she learns that Hana despises boys. 

_This is... new._

She calls the ones in their class “monkeys.” 

It makes her giggles into her palm because she adores this friend and maybe it’s alright to love because the feeling is mutual and this time there’s nothing that will tear them apart.

**xiii.**

For her birthday, Hana gives her a beautiful knife with a whisper of “our secret.” 

Funnily enough, it matches the cased sheath Nii-chan had gifted her that morning. 

She straps the knife high on her thigh and it feels right.

**xiv.**

The years pass by and life is steady. 

She takes to wearing bandages wrapped around her wrists and ankles, the former is to match Nii-chan and the latter is in honor of a memory.

Her gloves are kept tucked into the waistband of her skirt.

**xv.**

She sees a ghost in Hibari Kyoya. Then she blinks and it is Hibari raising a tonfa in warning. 

This is the part where she apologizes or takes her chances and runs. 

But. 

She will not bow her head so easily. Not after the work and effort she put into raising it above the water.

She lifts her chin.

“No.”

He stops.

**~set 1 end~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started this yesterday and the format of (mostly cohesive and linear) short moments/scenes + a confusing/unreliable narrative is super fun to write!
> 
> Favorite line is probably: "She thinks she might have been lonely before, though she wasn’t alone."
> 
> /
> 
> Kyoko/Sakura recognize that their current name is Kyoko but if you noticed, she doesn't refer to herself as either Kyoko or Sakura. What do you think the repeated statement that "this has happened before," means?
> 
> xxx  
> Please be respectful and don't post or translate my work as your own. Go to my profile for more details and information on ✨writing updates✨.


	2. xvi. - xxx. / 16 to 30

**xvi.**

There is a stack of gifts on her desk.

She blinks.

The pile leans precariously to the side and she rushes forward, oddly panicked, to steady the items. 

**xvii.**

She can’t fit them all into her bag.

Which means she has to carry them. In public. All day.

For some reason, this makes her blush, which sets off squeals and nosebleeds in her classmates and oH KAMI-

Suddenly, all those strange times people would offer her their lunch and indiscreetly follow her places, only to shriek and flee when Hibari came around the corner and started swinging, have her coming to an alarming conclusion.

She has _admirers_.

Standing up with a squeak that she would later deny, she scoops up as many little packages as she can and speed-walks to the Disciplinary Committee Room.

**xviii.**

She dumps the presents on the table and curls onto the well-cushioned couch with a whimper.

The attention is well-meaning and flattering, for sure, but also completely unexpected and overwhelming. At least they didn’t ambush her in person.

Yet.

Her eyes dart around the quiet, empty room.

She’s just going to hide here for a bit.

_This has happened before._ The voice sounds amused.

**xix.**

Her… "fanbase" braves Hibari’s temper to leave more… "offerings" at the door or bribe members to bring them in to her throughout the day.

Around lunch-time, Hibari stalks, with all the energy and none of the resulting sound of stomping, into the room.

Furious about the crowding near his office and ready for a real fight with the troublesome omnivore he knows is to blame, he comes to a stop when he sees her surrounded by a horde of boxes, wiping drool from her chin and muttering about contingencies to a sympathetic, nodding minion who cautiously wraps a blanket around her shoulders. 

Hibari raises an eyebrow, deliberates whether the sight interests him, then with a flick of his cloak similar to the twitch of a bored cat's tail, turns away with a scowl and settles behind his desk to brood in the dark.

**xx.**

Hibari Kyoya has eyes the color of a midnight storm. 

Hibari Kyoya has a dislocated jaw from her punch.

“Is that all you got, Kyo- _kun_?”

She grins at his snarl.

Several members of his Committee cried quietly in the corner and resumed their efforts to escape the locked room, adding to the collection of scratch marks that _no one ever talked about_ on the thick, wooden door. 

**xxi.**

He kicks her out at the end of the day, after most of the students have cleared out from the school. 

“You will attend classes tomorrow,” he said, tonfa glinting on his arm.

She tosses her head, doesn’t agree, and throws a bento at his back, quickly snagging one of his minions by the wrist to help her carry the rest of the goods. 

**xxii.**

Nii-chan is waiting at the exit and gives the older boy whose face is completely covered by ribbon an assessing look before eagerly exclaiming over how “extreme” she is and insisting on carrying the pile as training. 

They jog home and Nii-chan, being the absolute best brother that he is, takes it in stride and just grins, chattering about his day and asking her about her own, when people look over at the towering stack of offerings and she ducks to hide behind his taller frame. 

Best. Brother. Ever.

**xxiii.**

After Hana laughs herself sick and wipes actual tears of mirth away, she launches into an explanation about how she is the school’s idol and has been ever since she started carrying her first-aid kit around and helping patch students up.

Apparently, the innocents of Kyoya's rampages had been especially grateful for her speedy healing sessions.

She pouts at Hana, cheeks burning, and half-heartedly swats at the still snickering girl. 

“Alright, alright, let’s get some cake.”

**xxiv.**

The tradition of cake day began when they first met. Any time something good or bad happened or it was the first, second, third, or fourth week of the month, they would head to their favorite cake place and splurge. 

It was almost embarrassing the sheer amount of money they had spent on cakes over the years.

But cake.

The server greeted them by name enthusiastically and placed a towering piece of strawberry-topped chocolate goodness in front of each girl.

They exchanged contemplative looks across the table, then smug high-fives, before digging in.

**xxv.**

Sawada Tsuna confesses to her in his underwear.

He has a feverish look in his eyes and there is a flame of fire on his forehead. She stares at it entranced like the snake to his deranged snake charmer as he screams a request for her to go out with him. 

_This has happened before._

Oh, you’re back.

At her side, Hana huffs and crosses her arms.

She is used to shouting, Nii-chan is loud and there are others from dreams who were equally… extreme.

The lack of clothing is a bit much though. Sawada has always seemed like the decent sort and something about him makes the voices settle, so she’s willing to allow him the chance to explain himself, even as her fingers twitch into a reflexive fist.

She keeps her eyes fixedly above his collarbones and politely declines his offer instead of throat-punching him into next month.

Perhaps he was drugged? His pupils are blown wide.

**xxvi.**

When the flame drops, Sawada blinks confusedly- pupils returning to normal, she notices -glances down, and shrieks. He blushes red and it begins to spread down his neck. 

To the left of her, she can see Mochida, one of the older students and if she remembers correctly, a sports captain, open his mouth, most likely ready to add to the jeers already starting from the crowd gathering around them. She frowns and unbuttons her blazer. 

“Sawada-kun,” she called to the boy who looked like he wanted more than anything to run away or sink into the ground.

He lifted his head with a humiliated look in his eyes. She tossed him her jacket.

“It’s the only thing I can spare at the moment, but it’ll cover you a bit.”

His eyes began to well with tears and he thanks her softly, hurriedly pulling the clothing on.

**xxvii.**

Seconds before the bell is set to go off, Kyoya appears in the distance and the group quickly dispersed until it was just her, Hana, and Sawada, whose shoulder she had a firm grip on.

“Kyo, do you have an extra uniform for Sawada-kun here?”

Sawada mouthed ‘Kyo’ to himself and had a brief choking fit that everyone ignored. Kyoya spared a glance for Hana, they exchanged cool almost-nods, then looked at her.

“You are not in proper uniform. Where is your outerwear?”

She gestured to Sawada. Kyoya eyed him with disdain, nodded sharply and strode away. The bell rang and Sawada jumped.

Giving him a gentle push to follow after Kyoya, she said, “Return my jacket to me later, Sawada-kun.”

“R-right.”

Hana rolled her eyes.

**xxiii.**

It would be cliche to say that was when everything changed. 

Especially because it’d be wrong. 

The moment her steady life got flipped upside down was when she met Reborn. 

**xxix.**

The child is dressed in a suit. It’s a well-tailored suit and he has a matching fedora perched atop his spiky hair. She tilts her head so dreams will overlay reality.

He should be taller, older, darker.

Round cheeks have a becoming flush to them and she wonders at the kind of dangerous warmth he holds within him. 

_This has happened before._

Yes, this has happened before.

She knows what it feels like to have that kind of intense protection from such a capable individual. This time, she can protect herself.

Still, she thinks wistfully, it would be nice to bask in that untouchable safety again. 

**xxx.**

Mochida Kensuke has the nerve to organize a fight in her name without inviting her to participate, and then name her the prize.

She punches him through a wall for the insult.

The dead silence of the gym is broken by Hana’s loud giggles. It shakes people from their stupor and they break into raucous applause with her admiring fanclub- are those pins they're passing out?? -gaining more than a few new members.

Except, somehow, Mochida gets up.

_Has this happened before?_

**~set 2 end~**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Too many favorite lines in this chapter loool
> 
> A bit of world-building background:
> 
> In this fic's world, reincarnation is universally accepted as fact. Ages ago, like Greek and Roman times, they discovered that people are reborn. In modern times, studies- who knows what kind -have been done proving this is true. The only thing is that majority of people don't know or remember who they used to be because the memories of past lives usually remain in a person's dreams.
> 
> /
> 
> I made a visual for this story! Check it out in the work titled "So/Lu's Visuals."

**Author's Note:**

> Please be respectful and don't post or translate my work as your own. Go to my profile for more details and information on ✨writing updates✨
> 
> xxx  
> Link to a cute visual I made for this: ["Lather, rinse, repeat (missed a spot)" Visual](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26628229/chapters/67345354#workskin)


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